Conventionally, there is known an ion exchange membrane electrolyzer in which an anode, an ion exchange membrane, a cathode, an elastic body, and a base part are arranged in the stated order (e.g., Patent Documents 1 and 2). In such an ion exchange membrane electrolyzer, the elastic body includes a fixed part fixed to the base part, and a leaf spring extending at an angle from the fixed part. Then, pressing of the cathode by the elastically deforming leaf spring brings the ion exchange membrane into close contact respectively with the anode and the cathode.
In the meantime, the elastic body according to Patent Documents 1 and 2 is configured such that a force of the leaf spring to press on the cathode increases as a distance between the cathode and the base part. Therefore, if the distance between the cathode and the base part is small due to an error in design or in production, for example, there is a case in which the electrodes and the ion exchange membrane may not be brought into close contact with each other by a generally uniform force as the leaf spring locally presses on the cathode. In addition, the leaf spring may possibly damage the cathode.